Machilipatnam Test Range Project is a missile test range facility being built by

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, headqu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. As of 2012 the project is proposed to be set up at Gollalamoda village in Nagayalanka

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

near the coastal town of

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

. The project requires over 260 acres of land with an investment of Rs 1000 Crores. The

defence minister of India The Minister of Defence (ISO: ''Rakṣā Maṁtrī'') is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high ranking minister of the Government of India. The Defence minister is one of the most senior offices in the Union Council of Ministers as we ...

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...

, attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the range on August 26, 2019 along with the

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...

Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972), also known mononymously as Jagan, is an Indian politician, currently serving as the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Pulivendula Assembly constituency in the Andhra ...

. The facility is projected to be a full-fledged testing range to support both short-range and long-range missile missions. It will have a launch control centre, a few launch pads, a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

and state-of-the-art communication network, along with permanent monitoring stations for

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

and

electro-optical Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the propaga ...

tracking. The project is expected to be completed in three years from the time of allotment of land to DRDO. On 10 October 2024, under the

Integrated Test Range The Integrated Test Range (ITR) is a Test and Evaluation (T&E) centre of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Balasore, Odisha, it provide safe and reliable launch facilities for performance evaluation of rockets, ...

, the

Cabinet Committee on Security The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is a cabinet committee of the Government of India that discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and ...

approved the proposal for the establishment of a new missile testing range in Nagayalanka region in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

References

External links

* http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/land-survey-completed-in-krishna-delta-for-missile-launch-facility/article4585571.ece {{coord missing, Andhra Pradesh Ministry of Defence (India) Defence Research and Development Organisation Military installations of India

See also

References

External links